From the Philadelphia Inquirer:<P><B>Philadanco christens its Kimmel quarters</B> <P>By Miriam Seidel <BR>FOR THE INQURER <P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>It's been a signal month for dance, with the DanceBoom! series added to other offerings. Thursday night, with a full sense of occasion, Philadanco figuratively smashed the champagne bottle to christen a new space for dance, the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater. Philadanco is the center's only resident dance company, and it's good to see that the stage inside this elegant cube is plenty spacious for its full-size corps of 15.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2002/01/19/magazine/DANCO19.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A><BR>

The Philadelphia City Paper also had good things to say about the Philadanco Martin Luther King performances:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.citypaper.net/articles/012402/ae.dance.danco.shtml" TARGET=_blank>http://www.citypaper.net/articles/012402/ae.dance.danco.shtml</A>

From the Los Angeles Times:<P><B>Offering Gestures in Time<BR>Philadanco's pieces such as 'Hand Singing Song' explore the 'stylistic way' that African Americans communicate.</B><P>By LEWIS SEGAL, Times Staff Writer<P><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>In the annual parade of Black History Month dance events, the Philadanco modern dance company inevitably sets new standards for breadth of vision and originality of expression. <BR> Showcasing choreographers passionately exploring African American identity along with provocative dance-makers who just happen to be black, Joan Myers Brown's versatile Philadelphians are a magnet for creative risk and innovation--qualities abundant in a four-part program at El Camino College on Friday. <BR> Not everything worked equally well, but in David Brown's visionary "Labess II" and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's celebratory "Hand Singing Song," Philadanco introduced imaginative, finely crafted ensemble pieces of wide appeal.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Theater-X!ArticleDetail-52051,00.html" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A>

I saw Philadanco this past Sunday at their performance at UCSB, playing unfortunately not a full audience, though those who were there were very enthusiastic and vocal. They danced a slightly different program at UCSB than what Lewis Segal describes, substituting "Enemy behind the Gates" for "Exotica". Set by Christopher Huggins to minimalist composer Steve Reich's Four Sections, Enemy is an athletically balletic piece for 15 dancers with many multiple pirouettes, fast turns, and jumps. <P>I can't even begin to describe the piece, except to describe its effect on me. During a master class earlier in the day, Hollie Wright, Philadanco's only native Philadelphian, explained one facet of their philosophy succintly: "We like to move fast." They moved fast and big, always, and from the beginning. What was amazing about the choreography is that there is a natural arc to their work with a buildup to the climax, despite the amount of energy they start with. It was a great way to end the night, as it brought the audience to their feet, and I left feeling energized, and wanting to move.<P>Afterwards, the company spent some time answering questions from the audience, and we learned some interesting things. They have 5 programs they carry on tour, with about 16 pieces in their head at any one point. Someone in the audience remarked that they seemed to be genuinely enjoying their dancing, especially near the end of the pieces, and how they dealt with facial expressions --- is it choreographed? They explained that they encourage their dancers to let out whatever feelings they have when they're dancing, so whatever we see on their faces is real and not contrived.<P>They take class in a wide variety of styles, including ballet, jazz, modern (Horton, Graham, etc.), hip-hop, and others, and like other professional dancers, have long rehearsals, and lots of classes every day. They have their own company class taught by a couple of their own dancers --- I wonder when these dancers take company class. Most of them do Pilates, and a few do yoga as well. Overall, the dancers came off as intelligent, articulate, and thoughtful when they talked to the audience. There were no one-word answers, and the answers given were considered.<P>Trina mentions Francisco Gella above. Francisco's a beautiful dancer with good lines, athleticism, and really expressive dancing. The dancers were all very good, but Francisco kept catching my attention every time he moved.<P>I'd also observed their master class earlier in the day, taught by Dawn Marie Watson and Hollie Wright. They gave a class in Horton technique, and, to my untrained eye, the warmup looked like the world's hardest Pilates class. The movement was linear and powerful, but not hard, with none of ballet's typical languidness --- Dawn had to yell out "No ballet arms!" at various times. It was an interesting contrast to watch students try the movements, and then have one of the Philadanco dancers demonstrate it, because whereas the former made it look like some sort of difficult calisthenics, the Philadanco people made it look like dance. I guess this happens in every dance class, but it struck me because I'd never observed a modern dance class before.<P>In all, it was a very enjoyable way to spend a Sunday. It was very inspiring to watch the dancers really move, and if Philadanco is performing in your neck of the woods, be sure to go see them.<P>--Andre<P>[edit for typo]<p>[This message has been edited by Andre Yew (edited February 25, 2002).]

In the NY Times:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>JOAN MYERS BROWN has done a lot of interviews in the 32 years since she founded Philadanco, one of the nation's leading small modern-dance companies. Now it was time for another one, as this predominantly black, Philadelphia-based troupe prepared for a New York season opening on Tuesday at the Joyce Theater. The specter loomed once more of having to respond to questions like that ever-recurrent one about defining "black dance." But instead her interviewer asked what she'd like to talk about. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/05/arts/dance/05DUNN.html" TARGET=_blank><B>Click for More</B></A>

I was a little confused by that article. Is Brown saying she fired half her dancers? Or is she saying that if they audition for Ailey and fail she won't take them back? Sounds like it could be a major change either way...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Ever-Youthful With Leaps, Kicks and Attitude<P>ANNA KISSELGOFF, NY Times<P>There was energy to spare as Philadanco, Joan Myers Brown's popular modern-dance troupe from Philadelphia, featured four very different choreographers on Tuesday night when it opened a season at the Joyce Theater.<BR><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/09/arts/dance/09PHIL.html target=_blank>More</a>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Philadanco's diverse, demanding repertory has dancers jumping from ballet to modern and African<P>JEAN H. LEE, Associated Press on Yahoo! News<P>NEW YORK - Choreographer Christopher Huggins has brought the blockbuster to ballet with "Enemy Behind the Gates," a thrilling new work danced with style and strength by the Philadelphia Dance Company.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020508/ap_wo_en_ge/us_dance_philadanco_1 target=_blank>More</a>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Philly Dance Troupe's Diverse Repertory<P>Associated Press in the Hartford Courant<P>Choreographer Christopher Huggins has brought the blockbuster to ballet with "Enemy Behind the Gates," a thrilling new work danced with style and strength by the Philadelphia Dance Company.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://www.ctnow.com/entertainment/stage/hc-artsfill0512.artmay12.story?coll=hc%2Dheadlines%2Darts target=_blank>More</a>

Deborah Jowitt in the Village Voice:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The crowd screams approval when the 14 members of Philadanco! line up to bow. They're hot, and not just because many of them have sweated through four demanding works, but because they perform as if the lust for dancing has raised their spiritual temperatures.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0220/jowitt.php target=_blank>More</a>, in the second item of the linked article.

"'Danco on 'Danco," Philadanco's annual season-opener, offers the fun of seeing work created by the dancers themselves. This year's edition is subtitled "Rhythms, Relationships and Chairs," and Thursday's program at the Painted Bride, which differs slightly from tonight's, indeed featured enough relationship themes to fill an advice column.

PHILADANCO Receives Support from the ACE Group of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies

The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) announced today that the company has received financial support from the ACE Group of insurance and reinsurance companies.

The ACE INA Foundation, which is based in Philadelphia and is a charitable organization established by ACE INA, has donated funds that will support dance programs run by PHILADANCO for young dance students in the Philadelphia area. ACE Bermuda, a subsidiary of ACE Limited (NYSE:ACE), is sponsoring the company's appearance at the 28th annual Bermuda Festival next week in Bermuda.

Something about the steely resolve and daredevil pliability of Philadanco dancers makes you wonder just how much high-gear dancing can occur before a blowout. In a four-part program on Friday night at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, a few dancers arched back with such vigor, or flung a leg high with such force, they nearly capsized.

But that commitment to clarity and attack is what makes every work they do impressive on some level, even when it takes you on less of a journey than desired.

They are quite wonderful - our annual series presented them last year and the ENERGY is overwhelming - brilliant technicians and powerful performance - plus their outreach offerings are great - during their visit they offered a masterclass in Horton technique and Deborah Chase-Hicks hosted a pre-performance talk to the community - I'd love to have them back again

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